All posts by Darlene's Ponderings

Hello, I am Darlene. My sweet husband and I have been happily married for almost 43 years and counting as I write this. We have three wonderful children. Between them, we have 12 grandchildren, counting one step-grands. And we have three great-grands (one blood born). I have long been a writer and author for God. A Christian for over 50 years, I love the study of His word and love to write out what He teaches me in our times together and to share His ways with others. Though I have been published in magazines, I believe the new frontier is the WW Web, having potential to reach the world long past my days on earth. That is where I sense God's call for my publications. Thus begins Darlene's Ponderings, as I seek to share with you thoughts from Scripture and from life in the hope of helping other God-seekers through Jesus Christ to know and live for Him with greater strength of character, hope and faith.

Body of Christ, who I am in Christ

In Christ I am a Sheep of His Fold

September 20, 2013 Darlene's Ponderings Leave a comment

Seeking the Lord for direction, He instructed my heart that His people need to know and realize not only Whose they are, but who they are because of the work of Christ in us. So beginning today, we start a journey of discovery in this area in which God has been so greatly deepening my understanding of these things. Today we begin with our most humble position, which we must realize and submit to in order to fully grasp and press forward to the exalted positions found in Christ.

Read John 10

“…27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one. …”

Being sheep in the pasture of God does not sound very appealing, but it is a most blessed position in the Kingdom of God. Being followers who humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God to follow the Good Shepherd (Jesus Christ) in learning humility before God and complete reliance upon Him is the beginning position that prepares us for positions we would deem of greater worth. To skip learning first and foremost to be sheep who willing follow and trust the Shepherd is to invite opportunity for the wolf of the demonic to tempt us away through haughtiness that thinks more highly of self than we ought. So the first position we must learn to possess with glory in God who cares for our every need and positions us to be protected from falsehood and temptation is vital to our pressing forward to possess the higher ground He has for those who fully trust Him.

Through following the good shepherd we learn that He uses His staff to guide us and His rod to protect us because He loves us and desires the best for us. We learn to trust Him in these things, and the closer we follow to Him and the more attuned we get to Him, the more readily we recognize and surrender to His most gentle call.

For times when we become rebellious, putting ourselves, and even others in danger, the crook of His staff becomes an implement of rescue, to pull us back on track or lift us up out of pits we fall into. And His rod becomes an implement of discipline, used not to our harm, to destroy us, though it may feel that way, but putting us where we have opportunity to bond with Him and trust Him more.

He always leads us into good pastures where all our needs are met in Him, and where we may drink from the waters of His river in safety. As Psalm 23 tells us, even in the presence of our enemy, He feeds us from His table and empowers us for victory in the valley of the shadow of death, making us to pass through enemy territory with confident peace that the Good Shepherd is caring for us fully.

The good shepherd of a heard of sheep knows that a stubborn sheep that will not stay close to his shepherd puts himself and those who follow in danger of being snared by the wolves and other predators. To train that sheep to stay close and become one that leads others to do so as well, he will go so far as to use the rod to break the leg of the sheep. He then carries that sheep everywhere they go, keeping it close, loving on it as if a pet, tending its wound. By the time the sheep heals, it has bonded with the shepherd, trusting the shepherd fully, becoming teachable and easily led so as to keep it and those that would follow it safe.

Beloved, has God got you in a broken-leg place in life. He is not trying to be cruel. He cares for you and wants to keep you in safety. He is here to tend to your need and wants you to trust Him and rely on Him, being confident in Him that He will not fail you.

Being a sheep in the flock of God is not a shameful position for us. It is a picture of His great care for us who are followers of Christ. Learn to follow closely to the Good Shepherd and Watcher of your soul so that you may be led by Him to realize and possess all that you are in Christ through faith that fully believes and trusts His leading. (See John 3:18; Romans 10:9; 1 Timothy 4:10; Hebrews 3:12-19; 10:39-11:1, 6, AMP.)

Pray today for your faith in the Good Shepherd to grow strong, so that you fully trust His lead in your life and in the lives of those you love. Pray to remain close to Him. And pray for those you see with “broken legs” spiritually, that their faith in the Good Shepherd grow strong and that they will develop a teachable spirit, becoming pliable to all the good He has for them.

Psalm 23 ~ The Good Shepherd: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLI8Sv8_HlA

Holiness, Practicing His Presence, who I am in Christ

The Burning Bush

September 16, 2013 Darlene's Ponderings Leave a comment

“Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. So Moses said, ‘I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.’ When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then He said, ‘Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’ He said also, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God” ~ Exodus 3:1-6.

What was it that drew Moses attention and desire to ‘check it out’? It was the Light of God’s presence, burning in ways he realized was something unusual, special, real, producing a light that caught Moses eye and beckoned him over. Like others in scripture, when he realized He was in the very presence of Jehovah-God, he was quickly impressed that his feet were on Holy Ground. And what did God say? “Take off your shoes.”

What was it that caused Adam and Eve to want to cover up their nakedness? I believe it was not their naked bodies that beckoned the cover-up. It was their sin that distorted the image of God they were created to bear. They sinned against God and immediately wanted to hide themselves from Him so He did not see them as they now were. Their covering they made was inadequate, so God made coverings for them that included the shedding of blood to cover their sin.

When Jesus came, He paid the full price of sin and provided His own robe as a new covering for all who believe and receive the gift of His sacrifice for their sin. In so doing, not only does He clothe us with eternal robes, but He cleanses us from the inside out, leaving with us His Holy Presence who indwells us and restores the image of God in us who have new life through rebirth in Christ.

So now, we who are called the temple of God, house His presence and we are called and equipped to be His light shining in the dark places of this world. Now we become the “burning bush” and the ground under us is holy, for He is holy. He wholly dwells within those who believe and receive Him. The question is, are we – His people, His temples, His lights, His burning bush for our day, living as people of Holy Ground? Or are we hiding behind coverings of our own making that try to hide from God the sin our Savior and Lord died to cover?

God told Moses, “Remove your shoes.” We are to be real with God, standing in His presence as His image bearers made whole and holy in Christ. We must be real with Him so that He can fully and completely cover our nakedness and restore the image of God in us. And we must be real with Him so He can set up His presence within us to set afire our lives as His burning bush that is useful for drawing others into His holy presence.

Remove your sandals from your feet, Beloved of God, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.

Body of Christ, who I am in Christ

Child, BE Who You Truly Are

September 8, 2013 Darlene's Ponderings Leave a comment

I am reminded in my Heart Quest study today of what God began showing me more clearly at Quest. We are a new creation and must learn to work and function out of the new that is in the world, but not of it—aware of the world and its ways, but not touched by it so as to be knocked back into the old. The lesson instructed us to write out what God said to us in our study today. Here is what I discern:

“Darlene, Remember that you are a new creation and walk in it. Learn to function in the new that is Me, where belief and trust come easy because we are one and you KNOW Me. Take hold of the eternal to which you are called and possess it as belonging to you even now, because it does.

“You have known for some time that Kingdom living can and should be your here and now experience out of which you flow. Major in this way of life I am showing you and go deeper still in your understanding and experience of its truth so you may become in this life more and more who you truly are in Me, the person you will be eternally. Some will enter the eternal Kingdom in shock because they will not even recognize, much less know, themselves. Don’t be one of them. Draw near to Me and I will draw near to you, beloved, and I will teach you the depths of who you are in Me. Be all that I show you in ever increasing surrender and I will use you to reveal the truth of My Kingdom in the earth.”

Kingdom Living, Power, Sanctification

Lift Up Your Hands!

September 7, 2013 Darlene's Ponderings Leave a comment

Hello, beloved. I am here today to share a pondering with you as I seek the Lord to “show me.” As those of you who read many of my writings may have guessed, I am memorizing a large portion of Psalm 63 in the NIV. This week I am working to add verse 4 and 5 to what I have thus far. Today, as I consider and focus on verse 4, I find myself wondering what might be applied to life through this verse. It says, and I quote…

“I will praise you all of my life, and in Your name I will LIFT UP MY HANDS” ~ Psalm 63:4, NIV.

Now I will look and make sure I quoted that correctly. Back in a minute…(tick, tick)….

Ah, man! I keep saying “all of my life” instead of “as long as I live”. Oh, hum. Well I am getting better. I was saying “with all that I am,” which Father told me “sounds good to Me”, but it is not what this version of this verse says. Anyway, I digress. It is a process and part of my processing today is spurred by wondering how, in His name, we might lift up our hands.

Now this, I am sure, is talking about worship, but we should worship God by honoring Him as God and Lord and Master in all things, so I am wondering how else we lift up hands in the name of the Lord. Searching “lift, hand” on Bible Gateway, this is what I discern as I seek the Lord for His answers. Now, note, not all of these scriptures will be specifically talking about what I discern from the input I receive from the use of lift – hands in a particular verse. But I believe the things God is revealing to me are scriptural, so open your hearts and minds to Him and get ready to say, “Amen!” or “Oh me.”

“Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him by the hand, for I will make a great nation of him” ~ Genesis 21:18.

When we take the hand of a child or someone younger than we are in order to train them up or lead or mentor them, we better be doing so in the name of the Lord, as best represents Him. It is our greatest work of praise, honor, and glory to God when we encourage and help others become all He sees in them.

“As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land” ~ Exodus 14:16.

What better way to honor and glorify God than, through obedience to Him, to lift hands in His name so as to be used of Him to make a way where there is no way for those who need to be set free. This requires faith to believe Him, take Him at His word, and do what He says.

“Then one of them shall lift up from it a handful of the fine flour of the grain offering, with its oil and all the incense that is on the grain offering, and he shall offer it up in smoke on the altar, a soothing aroma, as its memorial offering to the Lord” ~ Leviticus 6:15.

Lifting our hands to fulfill what is needed in giving an offering to God at the altar of sacrifice. When we do and give and work as an offering of sacrifice and service to God, we bless Him and honor Him as Lord. The soothing aroma created not only pleases and glorifies God, but it acts as a memorial to Him and to all who see.

“Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them” ~ Leviticus 9:22a.

Lifting hands in honor of God’s name, as representing Him and His interests in the earth so as to bless those around us brings great praise and glory to our God and King.

“Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank” ~ Numbers 20:11.

God often will bless those we lift a hand to serve in His name, even when we do it with a bad attitude or wrong motives. But as Moses learned, better to check those things and get right with God first.

“Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to You for help, When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary” ~ Psalm 28:2 (Psalm 141:2).

We lift our hands to God in earnest prayers of intercession, supplication, and surrender; reaching to Him who is the answer in all things.

“And I shall lift up my hands to Your commandments, Which I love; And I will meditate on Your statutes” ~ Psalm 119:48.

Here I see the lifting of hands as in a pledge of allegiance, committing self to the Sovereignty of God as Lord and to the fulfillment of our responsibility as citizens of His Holy Kingdom.

“Lift up your hands to the sanctuary And bless the Lord” ~ Psalm 134:2.

As I read this, I am mindful that God is our Sanctuary. When we realize that we are safest when in close proximity to Him, accomplished through faith, trust, and allegiance to obey Him, it blesses His heart and brings us into His security.

“Why should any living mortal, or any man, offer complaint in view of his sins? Let us examine and probe our ways, and let us return to the Lord. We lift up our heart and hands toward God in heaven; we have transgressed and rebelled, You have not pardoned” ~ Lamentations 3:39-42.

Here I see lifting the hand so as to slap the knee—or the forehead, as the popular V8 commercial depicts—in realization of sin and sincere repentance of heart.

“Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension” ~ 1 Timothy 2:8.

We glorify, honor, and bless Father when we lift up holy hands in unity as Brethren in Christ.

And finally is the one that first came to my mind and heart as I anticipated this search.

Exodus 17: 8 Then Amalek came and fought against Israel at Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” 10 Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set. 13 So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this in a book as a memorial and recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 Moses built an altar and named it The Lord is My Banner; 16 and he said, “The Lord has sworn; the Lord will have war against Amalek from generation to generation.”

Beloved, the bottom line I am seeing is this. The Lord, our God, He is our Banner, our Support, our Strong Tower, our Storehouse of supply, abundant for every need. He is God, Lord, King, Savior, Hope, Help, Champion, Sanctuary. He is worthy for us to lift up holy hands in every possible way that brings Him honor. And sometimes we need the help of others to hold our hands up and to help us walk so as to make our ways straight. In Christ we are one with the One God who reveals Himself through Father, Son-Savior, and Holy Spirit-Presence-Power.

Father, I will praise you all of my life, with all that I am, and in Your name I will lift up my hands. In Jesus, make it so I pray. Amen.

Choice, God's Faithfulness, Godly Principles, Protection

Working for the “Well Done”

September 4, 2013 Darlene's Ponderings 2 Comments

“According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

“Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are” ~ 1 Corinthians 3:10-17.

Wow. How to tell you what I am seeing as I look at these two, often separated passages, and understand that they are one. Okay, let’s try this:

Picture the world as a cesspool of sin—for that is what it is. It is like the hot room in a facility that deals with all kinds of chemicals and germ warfare sources of destruction. When entering such a room to deal with such things, a person has to first put on a protective suit. It is the first line of defense.

Christ is our suit. He clothes us in righteousness that assures us a place in the Kingdom of God, protecting us from the destruction of sin. But we are called to build on that foundation in life as we deal with the destructive forces of this world. The way we handle the things we encounter in the hot room builds on the foundational covering of Christ to establish us as a holy temple of His presence here in the earth. The more we practice obedience to the protocols – our second line of defense against the things found in the hot room, the better the materials that are found in the building that we lay on the foundation of our security in Christ.

Then, when God calls us out of the hot room we go through the third line of defense that keeps us from inadvertently bringing the death and destruction of the hot room out into the place of righteousness where God resides and where no unrighteousness can enter: that is the fires that test the quality of our building that we have laid on the foundation of our security in Christ.

The more we have done things WITHOUT THOUGHT OF OBEYING THE PROTOCOLS meant to protect us from the destructive forces, and those meant to make us a witness to others found there that need the foundation of Christ and the example of a godly life, the more our building will have wood, hay and stubble in it that will be burned away.

The more we live so as to influence others for good and protect from contamination in our own lives, the more our building will possess gold, silver, and precious stones.

If we build with only a few of the good materials, them being attached to and surrounded by bad materials, when we go through the final decontamination phase, even the good will fall away as that which it is attached to burns away. In reverse, if we build mainly with good materials, even though there is some wood, hay and stubble in our lives—which there will be, though the materials that cannot stand the fires of testing fall away, we will still come through with a temple of glory intact and ready for the eternal Kingdom and the “well done” of the Son.

At my missionary friend’s memorial, recently attended, one thing we all agreed upon is that he most assuredly met the Master as he came out of the decontamination chamber to enter His embrace and receive the “Well done, good and faithful servant.” If God told him to forget what he had planned that day and just go to the next town and sit in the local DQ, he did it. He told me this last visit home that, in those times, most often there would be a divine appointment. But he had also come to learn that sometimes God sent him on such assignments to “simply take His Presence into a dark corner.” I cannot tell you the number of people who, after meeting him and visiting for only a few minutes, bear the testimony of their life being changed by the encounter.

Beloved, if you are truly trusting Jesus Christ for your salvation so as to be covered by His foundational protection, God’s word teaches us that encounter with Him will be honored by God, for “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself” ~ 2 Timothy 2:13. But if you are not working with Him to learn and live out the safety protocols and helping others to do so as well, the temple we are building to the glory of God can be completely burned away so we take no good accomplishment into the Kingdom through which to bring Him glory and receive a “well done” greeting.

An encounter with Christ should change our lives. In fact, we are told that we in this world can recognize His people because we bear fruit in keeping with righteousness (Galatians 5:22-23; Ephesians 5:6-10; Philippians 1:9-11; Hebrews 12:7-13; James 3:13-18). If we are truly united with Him, there will be a change in our lives: something that reveals we have had an encounter with Him that has us suited up in a protective covering against the hot room of the world. It is the bear minimum requirement that allows us to come through decontamination to enter the Kingdom. Even in a germ-storage hot room, if a person goes in without the suit on and is contaminated, he cannot just come back out, even after undergoing decontamination, and interact with others. Instead he is placed in an infectious ward and he becomes the vial in the hot room, with all who enter into his presence having to be suited up for their protection.

Building a temple on the foundation of Christ that will withstand the decontamination chamber requires we spend time in the Protocol Book—the Bible, learning not only how to move through and function in the hot room safely, but how to make a difference in the lives of others while we are there, setting an example that helps them to enter into a life that is changed by an encounter with Christ-in-me. Brothers and Sisters, this is how we work in the hot room so as to go through decontamination with something remaining that glorifies God and receives the reward of the “well done.” But in order to do that, we have to step into the hot room. We can’t hide out in our safe zones and build as glorious a temple as is possible for us unless we are willing to obey God’s voice to “go to the next town and sit in the local DQ,” or “go to Israel and live in Jericho.”

Go out into the hot room, beloved, being in the world, but not of it, and let Father make a Holy Temple for Glory out of you.

Kingdom Living

Power for the Day: An Entry from My Journal

August 29, 2013 Darlene's Ponderings 1 Comment

Oh, my. I am home today, and I find myself crying out to God with frustration that I experienced and walked in such power while on Quest last week, came home and the first few days, as I knew what I needed to do to accomplish what needed done for my friend who passed away and his ministry partners, I continued in strength. Then yesterday and today I am given over to tiredness, and the strength and ease with which my appetite and diet flowed with such peace and undisturbed desire for good suddenly fell to the wayside. I have been eating out of anxiety and tiredness again and I find myself crying out to God to understand what on earth is different. Then the “Aha!” hit me and I inhaled understanding.

I knew beyond a doubt that God ordained my Heart Quest. I was there at His invitation and miraculous provision, and His power to accomplish His call flowed free with my faith to believe and receive. That continued as I returned home and began to move with the Spirit to notify partners of Steve’s passing and take care of last minute details on my end of things. As I realized the flow of God’s power to my sure call for each day of this past week-plus, God then asked me, “What is different? What is different today from those days?”

It hit me with a “Wow!” Every day He gives me breath is His invitation to life. Even today, my first day to be home all day since the trip, and He instructed my heart, “Your call today was to rest, and it is okay and good for you to rest.”

Whatever day it is, God has a reason, an invitation, a call for the day in which I can flow with the power of His supply for completing whatever that day holds. There is no difference in this day than all last week. This day, as then, affords me opportunity to know my God, rest myself in Him, trust His supply, walk in His unconditional and incorruptible love, and take every opportunity to live as a daughter of the Kingdom, allowing His flow to influence my world and those in it. There is no difference. The power of yesterday is still available for my today. I just need to realize His invitation and join Him where He is with complete reliance that He who supplied my mountain top strength will surly make supply for the need and ministry of the valley below it.

Body of Christ, Chronic illness

The Importance of Circumcision

August 19, 2013 Darlene's Ponderings 6 Comments

As I meditate on the last two memory verses in the pre-retreat study for the Women’s retreat I leave on tomorrow, trying to digest them more fully, the nurse in me begins to consider the “foreskin” and the reasons for it being so important that we circumcise ourselves to the Lord by deliberately removing the foreskin of the heart; and why it is vital that He be the lead surgeon in that circumcision for us and our descendants. Here is what I find:

The foreskin is folds of flesh whose sole purpose is to hide the true organ: it is a façade.
These folds of flesh are difficult to keep clean, thus making them excellent breeding ground for filth, bacteria, and disease.
This fold of flesh can refuse to retract, keeping the true organ hidden, hindering proper function, which can cause pain and further disease. Or…
This fold of flesh can either get stuck in a retracted position or left improperly circumcised leaving a ring of flesh around the organ, thus restricting and cutting off proper blood flow, causing the true organ to swell, develop gangrene, and if not properly treated, bringing death to the true organ.
Once gangrenous death sets in, if the organ is not cut away completely from the rest of the body, it causes sepsis to seep out to the body.
Sepsis untreated brings death to the entire organism: of which the church is a living organism.

Therefore, beloved, make sure that you “…Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord and remove the foreskins of your heart…” by cooperating fully as God the Father and our Great Physician works to “circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live” ~ Jeremiah 4:3b-4a, Deuteronomy 30:6.

Love

True, Agapé Love Leaves No Scars

August 13, 2013 Darlene's Ponderings 1 Comment

“ Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God” ~ 1 Peter 1:22-23.

The thought that hits me as I read this passage is that we too often do things that are harmful to those we say we love; and according to my understanding of our love-walk through Christ, that fact proves the lack of our maturity and lack of full understanding of the way of love that God desires and destined us to have for one another.

True, Agapé love leaves no ungodly scars on those we profess to love. True Agapé love always does what is best for those we love, for true Agapé love does no harm. In fact, scripture says that “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” ~ Romans 13:10.

For, “‘All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord endures forever.’ And this is the word which was preached to you” ~ 1 Peter 1:24-25.

Learning to love, as God desires and designed us to, is vitally important because life is too short. Whether separated by death or the death of relationship due to sin’s destruction, life is too short to waste even a moment on anything less than to love one another from the heart. Leaving people scarred and marred by our sin against them brings difficulty to life that makes their usefulness to God – and ours – more difficult as all struggle to heal from sin’s wake. And one sin can lead to another as protective lines come up to separate us from one another. The solution?

“Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord” ~ 1 Peter 2:1-3.

True repentance and turning from our sin is vital to restoration of relationships. Repenting our failure to truly love those around us is to practice the law of James 4:8-10: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

God can and will restore our stance in life if we, in sincerity, repent with mourning humility the sin we committed because we failed to love those God blessed us to have in our lives, especially repenting our failure to truly love. True repentance focuses on one’s own part in the sin. When talking about drawing near to God, it does not matter what was done against “me”. If I want right relations with God that leads to some degree of restoration with others, all that matters is that I repent my part and leave what others did to God, for Him to deal with them.

One reason our focus must be on our personal sin, not counting the sins of others before Him, as a tattletale trying to make one’s sin more palatable, is another thing we must realize with repentance. Besides repenting being a tattletale, trying to take a little of the heat off our own sin, when our failure to truly love commits sin against another, leading to them stumbling in their love walk, we must repent of being a stumbling block to them because of our failed love for them.

When we can truthfully proclaim “Have mercy on me, a sinner,” without pointing to the splinters in the lives of those we sinned against, then we are truly practicing 1 Corinthians 13 love.

“…Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails….”

And as I reread that Corinthians passage, I see a new-to-me meaning of the phrase “…does not take into account a wrong suffered….” I’ve always heard that taught to say that we are not to add up sins as in a tally, constantly bringing up the past in our present discord. But as I read that in light of the turn this writing has taken, I see that we are not to take into account a wrong suffered as if it makes our sin somehow more palatable, saying, “It is okay that I sinned as I did what I did because of what they did.” Taking into account what someone else did to us and using it as excuse for us to sin, then saying, like Adam did, “She made me do it,” is not repentance. It is blame game.

True love repents of “my” sin without bringing up theirs. When we reach a love walk that not only repents of what we did without bringing up what was done to us, but more so we practice a love that chooses to not sin against those we love, no matter what they do to us, that is maturity in our love walk that will take us far in life.

True love says, “I love you, therefore I will do right by you no matter what you do to me; and if I do sin against you, showing the smallness of my love for you, I will accept responsibility for what I did without numbering your sins against me as excuse.”

How is your love walk, beloved? Do business with God today, and let’s press forward to live out for all to see the abiding Agapé that God gives to us and calls on us to give in His name, as representing Him.

Assurance

Matthew 11’s Dot to Dot

August 11, 2013 Darlene's Ponderings 4 Comments

Reading chapter 11 of Matthew, suddenly all these dots begin to connect. You know what? Matthew 11 is one exciting chapter of scripture! Picture this:

John the Baptist is imprisoned, probably being mistreated, ridiculed and scorned, and I am sure he realizes his time on earth is short. So, like most of us would do, he begins to wonder if his ministry was really what he thought it was. So he sends his most trusted disciples to Jesus to ask, “Are You truly Him?” How does Jesus answer?

“Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.”

Jesus not only taught that the tree (or true believer) will be known by its fruit, whether it be good or evil, but when asked if He is HIM, He did not simply say “Yes, I AM”, He said “Tell him of the fruit you see that proves Me to be.” In so doing, Jesus assured the heart of John to believe he himself is who he was sent by God to be: the voice in the wilderness preparing the way for Messiah.

Once they left, Jesus turned to the crowed and told them the fruit born through John that proved who he was, in essence saying, “In fact, he is Elijah, returned in flesh as promised.” In so doing, he removed the speculations of those who wondered if John was truly a prophet of God or what. Afterall, if he is God’s profit, wouldn’t God deliver him from the hands of his enemy?

Then Jesus prayed to the Father, and what does He say? Essentially He says, “Father, no one else truly knows who I AM, but You know Me and I know You. So it doesn’t matter to Me what others may say about Me. My assurance is in You.” And why did He pray so? He was giving example to us, as was a large part of His purpose in the world.

And what comes next but that well known and beloved passage, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

What do I hear here, in light of the previous connected dots of those wondering who they or another truly are? I see Jesus saying, “When life in this world gets so rough that you begin to question not only your own worth and who you really are, along with whether the produce of your hands is accomplishing any good thing – but also maybe you begin to wonder if I am truly who I AM, then come to Me. I will remind you who I am and who you are, and you will find rest and restoration when you yoke with Me in assurance of faith.”

And what is accomplished by yoking with Him? I see:

† The cooing of love for His betrothed child of God made sure to you who believe.

† Growing our faith in Who He is.

† Firming up what He knows to be your person and purpose.

† Training in righteousness, restoring the image of God through Christ and in the power of His Spirit.

† Assurance of purpose.

† Strength and supply for success in accomplishing all God’s will in all God’s way.

† Intimacy of relationship.

† Safety of presence.

† Aid in time of need.

† Unity from the heart.

† Undeniably proof of being in the eternal Kingdom now and forevermore.

Beloved, if no one recognizes the work of God born into the world through you, like Jesus you may take courage in knowing that the Father knows you and you know Him, and He is faithful to assure our hearts. And when life is so difficult you begin to wonder, “Lord, are you truly Him and am I truly Yours,” He has a yoke that is light and easy to bear, where you can stand hand in hand with Christ, finding assurance and supply along with rest for your weariness.

Come, beloved. Yoke with Christ today, receiving assurance of who He truly is, and the beauty of who you are in Him.

Assurance, Faith

According to YOUR Faith

August 10, 2013 Darlene's Ponderings 2 Comments

Matthew 9:22 ~ But Jesus turning and seeing her said, “Daughter, take courage; YOUR faith has made you well.” At once the woman was made well.

9:29 ~ Then He touched their eyes, saying, “It shall be done to you according to YOUR faith.”

God highlighted these verses for me this morning, encouraging me to entrust my current issue to Him, a flare of sciatica that doesn’t want to heal and is bringing to life the worst pain I have ever had.

Yes. I have birthed three children and I have suffered a kidney stone, both believed to be the worst pain sources known to mankind, but this leg issue far surpasses my experience of pain through these means. Realize too that when I had my babes, they were not yet doing epidural blocks to cut the pain. So my pain experience is great, and this is the greatest.

Today, despite the pain, I hear the Spirit say, “Daughter, take courage; YOUR faith has made you well, and it shall be done to you according to YOUR faith.”

Note here that it is my degree of faith God is looking at to determine His response. He also instructed me to “get up and walk”, casting off the cane in faith that my healing is coming in response to obedient faith.

My husband does not have the faith that I am healed. God didn’t tell him that I am. So he instructs me, “Take your cane with you.” God immediately instructed my heart that, out of submission to my husband in obedience to God’s word and to ease his mind, I am to comply, but I do so undisturbed by his doubt, walking with strength of faith’s supply, knowing that my healing is nearby through the power of God’s Spirit.

Beloved, has God highlighted for you what He is going to do in your situation, calling you to believe by faith? Are other people lacking faith and speaking words to discourage your faith?

Realize it is YOUR faith God will respond to on your behalf. If He spoke promise to you, believe God over the voice of dissension around you. Take courage beloved. Close out the words of doubt others spout realizing that He did not speak the word of promise to them. He spoke to you. The question is, whose report will you believe? God? Or man?

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” ~ Hebrews 11:1.

Holiness

The Call to Holiness

August 9, 2013 Darlene's Ponderings Leave a comment

1 Peter 1:16 ~ “Be holy for I AM Holy.”

God is holy. He expects us to be holy as well, living as His representatives, revealing His holiness through our holy lives.

It is all good and fine to note the call, but simply agreeing with God that we are to be holy is not enough. We need to understand what that means, and I will tell you, looking at the defining characteristics of the holy gives insight that breaks chains away.

I’ve shared before about a time when in nursing school, I was visiting with two other women during a break. One of them used some impolite expletives, then, looking at me with a look of great respect, she apologized to me for her language. My other friend, obviously incensed, blurted, “Excuse HER. What about me!” “Yeah, but she’s different,” responded the first. Immediately the thought that flowed to my heart was, “O God! I don’t want to be so different that others are uncomfortable around me.” With that thought / prayer, I turned a spiritual corner and hurt my testimony for the rest of our time in school. If I had known then what I am seeing here now, it would have helped me receive the compliment with rejoicing and hope that God could use me to help others desire to be better. God exalted me in the eyes of this one who was watching and was under conviction in her own life, then I blew it because I did not know how to accept the exaltation and realize it as a God-thing.

That intro done, to make sure we understand what this call to holiness means so we can fulfill the call, let us define it:

Holy:

Belonging to, derived from, or associated with a divine power; sacred.
Regarded with or worthy of worship or veneration; revered: a holy book.
Living according to a strict or highly moral religious or spiritual system; saintly: a holy person.
Specified or set apart for a religious purpose: a holy place.
Solemnly undertaken; sacrosanct: a holy pledge.
Regarded as deserving special respect or reverence.

In all of this definition we find what we are to be portrayed to the world as the holy people of God. God is holy. He expects us to be holy as well, living as His representatives, revealing His holiness through our holy lives. We do that by

† remembering who we belong to as His own possession (1 Peter 2:9)

† living according to His will and way revealed in Scripture and in the power of His Spirit

† realizing we are set apart for a purpose, finding what that is, and doing that

† walking as people who know their time and work here is for His glory and is a solemn undertaking, sacrosanct, a holy pledge

Yes, I skipped #2 and #6 on purpose. It is the focus I want to major on. A phrase in definition #2 catches my attention: “worthy of worship and veneration.” Now if you are like me on that fateful day in nursing school, I thought only God is worthy of worship and veneration and my receiving such veneration as a daughter of God revealed was to sin against God and rob His glory, so I fell. As I look at this today, I get some new found perspective that would have made a world of difference had I known this back then. So let us look more closely at this worship and veneration we are to live so as to receive.

First the word “worship” is better stated as “worthship”. In worship we see the worth of the one worshiped and laud the glory of that which is worthy. Then we come to…

Veneration: To venerate – To regard with respect, reverence, or heartfelt deference.

Deference: 1. Submission or courteous yielding to the opinion, wishes, or judgment of another. 2. Courteous respect.

God definitely has worthship. His worth is far above that of any other beings. No one can live up to His worthiness. So to worship God for His worth, giving Him His due adoration and respect for His worthiness, is much greater than any note of worthiness made for any human being. If we have right perspective to know the worth of God and keep His worthiness at the top of our favorite heros list, we will have and keep Him in the right place in our lives: most holy and most worthy. Worship of God for His worthiness will far exceed any other as we keep Him first in all things.

Now realize that we are called to be holy as He is holy. Taking that into consideration in light of the defining characteristics that make one holy, we see that we must live lives that are seen as worthy of veneration as good examples, representative of God and His character and power at work in our midst. People have a worthiness that can be recognized and lauded as worthy of appreciation and respect. That is especially true of those who know with practical realization that they are the chosen possession of God, and that God is faithful to supply our every need so that we may live holy lives that honor Him as Lord.

Of course, the flesh beings that we are, our worthiness of such attention falls far short of God’s worth. The thing is, as people of God who are to be holy, when people applaud our worth, we need to learn how to receive that with realization that God is the One who is truly worthy as He empowers and equips us. With that realization in our hearts, knowing that God calls us to be holy and that holiness involves being worthy of veneration, when venerated we can take the compliment with rejoicing, because if we are lauded as the people of God, He is glorified in that.

We cannot and must not be put on a pedestal that is as high as or higher than God’s. He is the only one with worthiness to sit on a pedestal of that height. But scripture teaches that He “exalts” the humble, (Luke 14:11, 18:14; James 4:10). He brings them to a position of worth, worthy of veneration. It is humility that keeps the applause coming to us from going to our heads and making our pedestal unstable or even to topple. Humility before God receives graciously the compliments of others while giving glory to God.

Father, may we be found living a holy life that sets a good example, worthy of respect, veneration, note, to the glory of Your name. In Jesus, amen.

You may stop here, or if you want a little more, read on as we note some significant passages in Scripture that give insight regarding the exaltation we may find ourselves in:

“God is the Judge; He puts down one and exalts another” ~ Psalm 75:7.

In Joshua 3:7 we see Joshua about to step up to the plate following heavy hitter, Moses. God assures Joshua that He will exalt him before the people so that they will know that as God was with Moses, so He would be with Joshua. That is the purpose of our exaltation today as well, beloved. We are to live exemplary, notable lives so that others may know that God is with us.

In 1 Chronicles 14:2 we see that God exalted the kingdom under David for the sake of His people.

In 1 Chronicles 29:25 we see God exalt Solomon to become one of the most well-known and beloved kings in scripture. We also know that Solomon had his sin issues, yet God’s mercy and compassion toward him chose to exalt him anyway. You are not beyond God’s work of exaltation if you are seeking His face and trusting Him. His love and grace is sufficient to cover your unseemly places while He continues to lift you up and increase your beauty as His possessed representative. Like Dundee said of his land in Crocodile Dundee 1, God claims His right over you, calling you “BelongaGod”. If you belong to Him, He will work exaltation in you.

In Psalm 37:34 we see that those who wait for and keep the way of the Lord are exalted.

In Psalm 89:16 we see the righteousness of God gifted to us is what makes us worthy of exaltation. That’s the gift of God’s grace through Jesus, people.

In Psalm 89:24 we see that those who trust in the faithfulness and loving-kindness of God have their “horn” exalted: in other words they are given great strength and prosperity.

In Proverbs 14:34 we see that uprightness and right standing with God (moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation) elevate a nation.

In Proverbs 24:7 we see that “wisdom is too exalted for a fool”. Thus we know that turning from foolish ways exalts us to receive true wisdom.

In Proverbs 29:25 trusting in the Lord so as to not give self to fear brings God’s exaltation.

Then we have warning:

In Isaiah 24:4 we see that exaltation can and does fade away. If we live godly lives in our youth so as to be deemed worthy of veneration, we must continue to practice those things that make us worthy. Relying on yesterday’s pedestal moment to the neglect of the next will see this glorious position God placed us in fade over time. Remember, the reason we are exalted is so others know Jehovah is our God. We cannot serve Him today and forget Him tomorrow and stay in our high positions of honor with God who exalts us.

In Jeremiah 48:29 we are reminded that “pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18, KJV) It is God who points us out to others and exalts us before them. It is Him who places us in positions of honor, and He can and will remove our lampstand if we become haughty and try to rob His glory for ourselves, or if we turn away and run after the things of this world.

So, live life to the full as honors God and represents Him well, beloved. When exaltation comes, receive it with grateful heart that sees God’s pleasure in the exaltation of His people. Give Him glory and praise Him with thanksgiving.

Love

For the Love of God

August 8, 2013 Darlene's Ponderings Leave a comment

Father, here am I, ready to spend my day with You. I like this thing we have done the past day or two: setting up my note page, getting into Your word or the Heart Quest study throughout the day, working on memory verses. It is awesome to have this time with You and to have you as the main focus throughout my day. Thank You.

There is a quote in The Rabbi’s Heartbeat that is really calling me to evaluate my motives for all I do, Lord God. The instant I read it, I was grabbed in the Spirit by it. I pray, O God, to know the truth and to rightly evaluate my true intents and motivations, and to bring all to one lone reason for life and living: for the love of God. Here am I, O God. In Jesus, amen.

Quote: Brennin Manning, The Rabbi’s Heartbeat, Devotional title: Perfect Love; page 55 in the Nook Book

“Suppose for a moment that in a flash of insight you discovered that all your motives for ministry were essentially egocentric….”

This really has me wondering why I do what I do. Do I write His words because I love Him above all and desire to help Him achieve His desired purpose, will, way, plan in the lives of those touched by what I share? Do I reach out to others with compassion because I love Him and desire to be His conduit in ministry? Do I clean the kitchen because I love Him and desire to be the wife, mother, grandmother of His heart’s desire, tending to the daily duties for His glory as a good example of a godly woman? Why do I seek to serve? Do I fully and completely and madly and passionately love God and desire to show that love by doing for others as His namesake?

May today be the turning point for the rest of my life to be dictated by love for my God and Father, Yahuwah-Ishi. To God be the glory! AMEN? AMEN.

Assurance

Speaking Out of Promise

August 3, 2013 Darlene's Ponderings 1 Comment

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” ~ Hebrews 11:1 (See also: Romans 8:24; 2 Corinthians 4:17-18).

Assurance of hope; conviction that the yet-to-be-seen will be: people who are functioning in this realm of life will show it in at least two major ways:

One ~ they will live life in a way that reveals they have hope for a better tomorrow, living life in a way that reveals the things they hope to see can and will happen as God inspires their heart. Such hope builds to direct one to see that desire as worth chasing after and working toward, no matter how difficult the journey may be.

The second is the fact that people of such hope talk different. These may go through moments of negativity in times of discouragement’s temptation, but it will be short lived. God will use something to remind them of their hope for the future, and they will begin to speak about those truths of faith, often as if the thing they are waiting for has already happened. It is a sure thing for them because they receive God’s inspiration of heart desire with belief that says, “I know You can if it is Your will.” And they hear Him respond, “I am willing. Let’s do it.”

The confession of our hope is vitally important, both the spoken confession, and the actions we call life that move toward the desired reality. Two things have me thinking about the confession of our hope, speaking out of promise, today.

One is a family issue that has me grieving and concerned over one I love dearly. Most days I get up and press forward with faith in God who assures my heart that He is working in the situation and in the life of this one I love, accomplishing His purpose and bringing all to His glory. On those days I have strength, joy, and ability to function. But some days I get hit by the grief of the situation and find my function robbed of strength and joy. Today as I write this first draft has been one of those days when grief over the situation fights against what I know God is telling me is His truth and my hope for this situation.

There is a teaching in the church that I believe in practicing, but I believe we must be careful how we practice it. It is the teaching found in such passages as of 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 coupled with that of Philippians 4:8 that is used to teach us to speak what is not yet as if it already is. It is a teaching that intends we speak with faith in God’s word to us regarding life issues, even when life is not visibly in alignment with God’s word, while trusting Him to work to bring all in alignment to His expressed will. I believe we are to do that, express our hope and faith in God, trusting Him to fulfill it; but I also believe we must take care that the positive we speak has its basis in faith in God’s promises to us, not just some good outcome we prefer to see. God’s way is not name it and claim it; it is receive it and believe it.

I have a friend whose daughter turned from the Lord. Every time her daughter would deny God, she would tell her, “That is not truth, for scripture says, ‘Assuredly, the evil man will not go unpunished, But the descendants of the righteous will be delivered.’ You will return to God.” Now first off, my friend’s righteousness she was trusting in that made her able to claim this verse was not her own, though she worked hard in the strength of God’s supply to live a righteous life, but her trust in her proclamation was in the righteousness she possesses through her relationship with Christ Jesus. And God was faithful to fulfill the promise He gave her heart through His word. It was not long before her daughter turned back to God and began to grow in Him anew.

Today I read the following post on one of my friend’s pages:

“Today’s Family Confession: My family is saved because I believe in Jesus Christ. My children and grandchildren are taught of the Lord. Great is the peace of my family and God’s spirit is upon them. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” ~ Sebastian Weaver.

God used this confession, all of which I recognize as scripture based confessions, to remind my heart that on days of grief, it is vital that I keep speaking out with assurance the promises I hold to easily on days of strength, for “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen,” and faith boldly confessed gives strength and new life to weary, dry bones. So it is important for me to have written out the truths God has highlighted for me in Scripture with regard to this loved one, so that when the emotional onslaught of grief hits my flesh, my heart and mind can continue to remember God’s word and choose to believe Him over what my eyes are seeing in the life of my beloved right now.

The other thing that has me thinking on this subject is a dear friend who expressed frustration when others keep speaking “negative confessions” on an area of his life where God has given him clear promise and hope. It has me wondering why we would have cause to fear or be frustrated over what others say if our faith is in what God says.

We have scriptural precedence revealing how often God will speak a true, prophetic word of promise to one person. Others, some false prophets who have no part in God, and some true prophets of the one true God who are not hearing him on that subject or out of some fear of others, they are not speaking truly. The one who is hearing and speaking truly has no need to fear, fret or fume over the negative words of others if the word they are trusting is truly from God. Why? Because God promises that the word that is from Him WILL be fulfilled, proving to all the truth of the word spoken. We know the prophetic utterance is from God when it comes to pass. And He will do what He wills despite what unbelievers in His word to us think or say.

Most of the things God gives me are based on Scripture. I can point to what I am seeing and receiving from God in the Scripture, and others can see and believe it for themselves, along with me. But sometimes God will speak something to me in which I have no clear directive in His Word that I can point to.

I shared in previous writings that as I draw near to my 60s, finding myself in a season with ill health had me concerned that I might not be long for this life, I began to fear dying. Every time my health would fail me, a fear would come up in me, hindering me from enjoying the days I have. Then one day the “voice” of His presence that I have always understood as God speaking to me, began to say three words into my times of concern over my health: “at least eighty-two.” Every time it happened, I knew He was telling me to not fear, for I still have many years of life to live. That assurance from God has come to me so many times now that I no longer question or doubt; I just believe and trust the Lord for my times and epochs. I asked God once, “Why ‘at least’? Why not just give me the age outright?” He revealed to my heart “I know you. If I tell you exactly when, you will pack your bags, say your goodbyes, and sit to wait for Me. I want you to live life to the full until the instant I take you home.”

Now I have enough assurance in me from God that I tell people of this prophetic promise, but I have nothing that I can give them as proof. Used to that would bother me, but I have learned that God is the protector and completer of His word. Others may not believe me and may even argue with me. But I just smile and go on in assurance because God has me convinced.

Trust God, beloved. Learn how He works with you to instruct your heart. Know His voice, the voice of the Good Shepherd (John 10). And trust His word to you with faith filled assurance and hope. Let Him convince you of things you do not yet see. Dive into the water with Him and see what He will do. Those who disbelieve will see. You just keep smiling with the joy of your assurance.

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” ~ Hebrews 10:23.

Assurance

Pull Me Closer

July 24, 2013 Darlene's Ponderings 1 Comment

My husband has me convinced. It amazes me, but I am convinced. Not only does he love me fully, but he truly sees me as beautiful, attractive, alluring, and appealing. That is awesome to me. And God made it more awesome as He used Johnny’s love for me, again, to teach me something about His own.

You see, I am nearing 60. Forty pounds overweight, greying hair, the family nose, curves where no curve should be, and I don’t feel very appealing. In fact, I am a viable candidate for the next opening for Barnum and Bailey’s bearded lady. Seriously! All of this makes me leery when my husband and I get too close, afraid his bad eyes will see clearly, and he will change his tune. But then he assures me of his sincerity, and I marvel at his love that never ceases to amaze.

The other night as we were falling to sleep, I was mulling this marvel over, again convinced anew and relishing in the truth of my husband’s affections, while at the same time realizing my own timidity toward him because of my feelings about myself. As I thought on these things, the Spirit of God spoke clearly to my heart. In a nutshell, here is what He told me.

“A woman’s fear of trusting the loving affections of her husband throws up a wall between them as she holds herself back, not wanting to get too close where he might see what she sees. As a result, she misses out on the intimacy to be enjoyed in a relationship of loving trust: one where she feels safe to be real and enjoy their life together. By not getting close and trusting his affections, she then fails to see what he sees in her, and misses the inspiration to major on that area of her nature to be better.

“The same is true where our relationship with God is concerned. We hold ourselves back from God, not wanting to get too close for fear that He might see us as we see ourselves and be repulsed. So out of fear of trusting the love God has for us that causes Him to choose us as His own possession with sincere desire to draw near to us as we draw near to Him, we miss the intimacy to be had with our God: hindering our being real with Him. And as a result, we miss out on the very relationship we need, and we fail to see what He sees in us and be inspired to higher ground.”

It is important to have relationships with others who accept us and appreciate us for who we are; people we feel safe to be real with. But those people should also be ones who love us in ways that inspire us to be the best we can be. That is the love God calls husbands to have for their wives. You see, God knows that we struggle with our sense of self. So He called husbands through Paul to a love for their wives that cherishes and nurtures. That which we cherish, we hold up to admire it and we do all we can to help it to look and be its best. We treasure that which we cherish, seeking to protect and build it up. Those we nurture, we help to be the best they can be, nourishing them in good ways that help them grow strong and achieve their purpose. My husband loves me in this way, and so does my God.

“Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: ‘He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us’? But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, ‘God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you” ~ James 4:5-10.

When we draw near to God without fear of His seeing us for who we are, He makes us better people through the relationship and He lifts us up. So why do we hide under the covers, afraid of the relationship that will make us better, more appealing, stronger?

What was the first thing Adam and Eve did after they sinned? They tried to cover up their nakedness and hid from God. God is not afraid of our nakedness, but we should be afraid of hiding from God. When we hide from God, that is when we lose site of the One who can cover us in robes of righteousness and make us whole again.

For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but One Who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning. Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it]” ~ Hebrews 4:15-16, AMP.

Draw near to God in intimate relationship, beloved. He loves and desires you, and He wants to help you see what He sees in you and what He has for you to attain for yourself.

“In this [union and communion with Him] love is brought to completion and attains perfection with us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgment [with assurance and boldness to face Him], because as He is, so are we in this world” ~ 1 John 4:17, AMP.

Closer ~ Steffany Frizzell and Matt Stinton: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLQ0C_MSVLY&list=PLfiEjLIYhJ9AfidNKH4ify2vg0Z5t-SSj&index=6

Kingdom Living

Forgiving God’s Way (Part 2 of 2)

July 22, 2013 Darlene's Ponderings Leave a comment

Yesterday we looked at our call to forgive as God forgives, in accord with His seventy-times-seven principle. Today we seek to answer the question, “How do we do that?” I believe God long ago taught me a very important principle that must be practiced by choice if we are to achieve the 70 X 7 goal of grace.

“I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins” Isaiah 43:25.

Choice, Godly Principles

The Young Don’t Always Do What They are Told

July 21, 2013 Darlene's Ponderings Leave a comment

“For after I turned back, I repented; And after I was instructed, I smote on my thigh; I was ashamed and also humiliated because I bore the reproach of my youth” ~ Jeremiah 31:19.

I have three children, twelve grandchildren, and many friends and acquaintances that are younger than me, and one thing I have learned through the years is that the young don’t always do what they are told. I can warn one of these from my experience of a path they are thinking of traveling, and instead of hearing and receiving the warning, they too often choose to walk the path for themselves and learn things the hard way. In the world’s economy, there is too often an unseen badge of honor we feel we have earned by learning things the hard way, by experience rather than through instruction. But in God’s kingdom, the badge of honor comes to those who hear and, through faith, obey the instruction given.

“The young don’t always do what they are told” comes to me in the voice of a Stargate SG1 character named Anteaus, a leader of the Nox in episode 107. He was not just speaking of the child Nox under his care, but he was speaking of the SG1 team and the people of earth. What has me thinking on this subject this beautiful Sunday afternoon?

On my way home after Church, mulling over the message and its application to me personally, the Spirit, in the voice of Anteaus, said to me—about me, “The young don’t always do what they are told.”

I am nearing 60 years of age, an elder in our society, yet to God whose age is beyond number, I am “the young.” Still, at my age, I too often fail to hear fully what God is telling me. There are a couple of things we flesh beings are prone to do when we are not hearing and receiving through faith God’s instruction to us with understanding and clear comprehension:

One – We too often hear, but then add more to His instruction than He intended we bear; just like Adam and Eve. Adam was told not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Yet somehow when the serpent asked Eve about it, it was translated to and through her as, “We are not to eat, or even touch it!” (Genesis 3) So one way we fail to do what we are told is by making God’s instruction burdensome by adding to it things that He did not intend us to bear. Or, if you are like me, we often add things that make it less our fault when we fail, as you will see in my example below.

I am not beyond making God’s instruction to me more difficult or convenient by adding ultimatums or a way out beyond what He instructed me. Just today God instructed me through 1 Peter 1:1-2 that we are chosen for the purpose of obedience to Christ. As I noted that in my study notes, I had to scratch two words out as I wrote, “We are chosen for the purpose of obedience to ~~and through~~ Christ.”

Now is the “and through” untrue? No. I can do nothing apart from Christ (John 15). And it is through the Spirit of God that I am empowered (Romans 8:13; Galatians 5). But in that moment God was instructing me that I must choose to obey. It is my responsibility to hear and obey: my choice, given me by God, to do so. As a result, as soon as I finished writing “obedience to and through Christ,” God caught my attention with “That is not what My word says,” and I had to scratch the “and through” to take responsibility for the “to do” I am called to.

Two: Another way we fail to do what we are told is through forgetfulness or by setting God’s instruction aside and ignoring it altogether. No matter how old I get, and even the older I get, the more prone to forgetfulness I am. How many times of late I have slapped my thigh with the words, “Man! I forgot.” I have to deliberately work to grasp hold on God’s instruction and choose to do it with determined conviction and deliberate effort to remember. I know that, from the earliest Bible days to now, I am not alone in this struggle, as Paul and Peter both often taught “by way of reminder, lest you forget.” And farther back still, God would have the patriarchs of faith set up altars of remembrance, so when they would see it, they and their children would be reminded of the ways of the Lord, what He did for them, and His instruction to them.

No matter how old we get in this life, we have to remember to take care, for “The young do not always do what they are told.” Like the child Nox and the SG1 team in episode 107, when we fail to hear and receive instruction, we very often get ourselves into a world of hurt that could be avoided if we would only listen with intent to put into practice the wisdom of those older and wiser: especially when that Older, Wiser One is God the Father.

Kingdom Living

Forgiving God’s Way (Part 1 of 2)

July 19, 2013 Darlene's Ponderings Leave a comment

Reminder of the need to practice the things God has taught me about forgiveness is constantly cropping up, in my own life and in the lives of people I know. So a reblog seems in order. Part 2 tomorrow.

Darlene's Ponderings

“Then Peter came and said to Him, ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven’” (Matthew 18:21-22, NASB).

Peter asked Jesus this question about forgiveness, quoting the number of times required by the religious law of the day as the number of times to forgive. They took that number literally to mean that after seven times, they were free to hold unforgiveness even if the person was sincere in their repentance.

Jesus’ answer seems to up the number greatly to seventy times seven. But what exactly does that mean? Is it just a bigger number that we can count? If it is just a bigger number that we can count out, what of the teaching in 1 Corinthians 13 where it…

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Choice, Holidays

An Independence Day Thought

July 5, 2013 Darlene's Ponderings Leave a comment

I have 11 1/2 grandchildren and the older ones enjoy writing and blogging. Our second oldest blood born grand wrote a blog on our independence that is insightful and mature beyond her 16 years. It is a word worth reading, so I share it with you today. BLESSings, and may all your days be a day in which freedom dwells, for if it does not dwell within us, it cannot dwell in the land in which we live.

http://kennedystafford.wordpress.com/2013/07/05/where-liberty-dwells/comment-page-1/#comment-149

Adequacy, Assurance, Kingdom Living, Overcomers, Stand Firm

Raised Up and Seated

June 18, 2013 Darlene's Ponderings Leave a comment

Ephesians 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Note the past tense in the words “raised” and “seated,” beloved. The spirit of your being, united with God’s Spirit in Christ Jesus, is already raised up and seated with Him. When the flesh, this world, demons, the stress of this life, and whatever else, tries to make you feel distant from God, don’t you believe it.

I am reading the book by Tony Evans, titled “The Battle is the Lord’s.” In the first chapter he points out that we may physically be here on this earth; but spiritually we are already raised to a position of victory in Christ, in the heavenly places with Him. So when we battle the spiritual battle in this life, we cannot fight it from a stance of physical position and win. However, if we remember where we are in Him spiritually, victory is assured. Why? Because we are translated to the position of a soldier in the Lord’s army and, as part of His army, we are assured everything we need.

First Corinthians 9:7 records these words, “Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense?” A soldier is provided all his needs by the government under which he serves. So it is with God. He supplies our food, our clothing, our weapons for war, and our ammunition. All that is needed, He supplies, even our strength. And strength is greatly plussed when we remember that though our bodies are of this earth for now, our spirits are already raised up and seated with Him. We are part of His army. And He supplies all we need for victory in the war of the heavenly places.

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

Assurance, Practicing His Presence

Faith’s Endurance 3

June 13, 2013 Darlene's Ponderings Leave a comment

“This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.

“If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world” ~ James 1:20-27.

People often think James and Paul contradict one another in their teachings. This is not the case. James and Paul are saying the same thing from different ends of the continuum.

Paul often stressed salvation by faith, not works, because those known as Judaizers were coming to where he was teaching mainly the Gentile believers, and they were trying to press the Gentiles into thinking that unless they received circumcision of the flesh of the foreskin, they could not be saved. So Paul stressed that it is faith in Christ that saves, not any work of the flesh. But he also stressed that, once having been saved and filled with the Spirit, those who are led by the Spirit will also follow the example of Christ in the keeping of the Laws and call of God on their personal lives.

James is dealing with a group that is tempted by the flip side of the issue—the other end of the continuum of faith. These he speaks to believed that if we are saved by faith in Christ, it doesn’t matter what we do from there on out; sin or not, we are still saved, so why care about the Law or the works of the flesh. James is teaching them, as he says, “Show me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith by my works” ~ (See James 2:14-26). True faith in God through the saving faith of Jesus Christ always walks in the fullness of the Spirit to obey God in all things. True faith in God through saving faith of Jesus Christ brings the filling of His Spirit that empowers us to accomplish every good work in accord with the will and way of God.

Endurance in our faith does what is godly. Endurance, because of faith that believes in and trusts God through Christ and in likeness to Him, chooses to “be doers of the word and not merely hearers of it.” A person who hears the word, while not being changed and influenced by it to walk in God’s will and way, needs to seriously look at where his faith lies and whether it be true faith.

We learn of God through what He requires of us, for God requires of us what He Himself believes to be true; and what He requires us to do in the strength He supplies us for doing it, He Himself does, for He is faithful to His Word. Thus one whose faith endures the trials of life knows how to bridle his tongue to the glory of God, producing a wellspring of sweet Living Water; and by faith, he or she knows how to serve God through the works of their hands. When we grow strong in faith to believe God so we may endure temptation’s pull that leads away from the will and way of God, then we will endure to the finish and produce the works that prove the source of our faith and protect us from falling to the lusts of the flesh.

Assurance, Practicing His Presence

Faith’s Endurance 2-c

June 11, 2013 Darlene's Ponderings 2 Comments

Begin by rereading our focal passage ~ James 1:12-20.

In our last post we covered the path to protection from temptation as we looked at watching our love walk, especially love for God; remembering secondly that evil is not God’s desire for us—evil being anything less than God’s desire, will and way; and third, God’s idea of good is His ideal for us, so follow the good. Continuing the seven guiding principles to victory in our endurance that withstands the trials and temptations of life, thus achieving the righteousness of God as we choose faith in Him, we press on to the fourth aid to our journey:

Fourth: God leads by the way of truth.

God’s truth sets free indeed. Those who hear His voice and follow Him will walk in the truth of God and be set free from the stress of trying to keep the laws in their own strength. My missionary friend said something the other day that struck me as odd until I thought about it and realized the truth of his words.

My daughter brought a cookie cake in with her. I said, “O, she is tempting us.” He said, “You tempt yourself.”

What he is saying is that though Satan sets something before us to bring temptation to us, it is only because he knows our lusts. It is our own lusts that tempt us. “…for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust….” It is a truth I needed to hear, and ponder. Satan sets traps intended to test our love of God, and/or challenge our emotional responses, and/or tempt us to our lusts. It is our choice whether we are tempted and given to fall into his trap.

“All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth to those who keep His covenant and His testimonies” ~ Psalm 25:10.

“It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect” ~ Psalm 18:30-32.

Fifth: be quick to hear.

STOP when temptation comes:

S ~ Set your mind on the things of God

T ~ Take a moment to inhale Him and get His thoughts and His heart

O ~ Observe His ways by walking in Obedience to His leading

P ~ Pause to listen for Him before pressing forward, then do so with assurance of God’s will and way set before you

“…Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren…” our focal passage warns us. God’s desire for us is good. Therefore we must take time to hear Him and do the good. Just as we can avoid relational discord by taking time to listen with hearing ears, so we can avoid fleshly struggle that falls in the trials of life by taking time to hear from God. And God is not one to leave us in confusion. He desires our best and speaks clearly to the listening ear that is ready to receive.

“Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good morals.’ Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame” ~ 1 Corinthians 13:33-34.

“…God is not a God of confusion but of peace…” ~ 1 Corinthians 14:33.

Sixth: be slow to speak.

One thing my missionary friend is working on is listening: listening to what others are saying while visiting with them, but also listening to the Spirit to know how, when and if he is to respond. It is a good practice to have when our desire is to encourage one another in the Lord. Why? Because…

“Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well…” ~ James 3:1-3 (I highly recommend that you prayerfully read through James 3-4).

Learning to listen before we speak protects us from temptation to speak foolishly. And keeping self from speaking foolishly avoids a lot of the trials of life. It is a good habit to have at all times, protecting us from running into temptations trap wherever it may be found. Taking time to listen for God and align ourselves with Him gives us time to get our desires under control before we speak up to get something we really don’t need, including protecting us from setting a bad example in our actions and reactions.

Seventh: be slow to anger.

Here we are told to be slow to anger, especially over the words of others. Anger is but one emotion we can give ourselves to that will defeat God’s purpose for us, so I will add here to “be slow” to give yourself to emotional responses. Any emotional response in the leading of our flesh will quickly lead us to sin against God. Endurance, taking time to STOP with faith in God to lead us, getting hold on God’s heart and response to the issue at hand, saves us from giving ourselves over to the lordship of our fleshly emotions.

“Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” ~ James 3:13-18.

Beloved, faith-filled endurance perseveres under trial, and it practices these seven steps to successfully walk in victory over difficult times in life, thus enabling us to help others have knowledge of God and His ways. Without faith’s endurance in the midst of trials, our foolish hearts deceive us, our fleshly lusts temp us, and our ungodly emotions to easily rule us. Thus we must remember that we are His workmanship, created for good works, set in the places we find ourselves so we may be His ambassadors, the first fruits of His purpose in creating us; and part of that is to achieve the righteousness of God in the earth, thus bringing glory to His name.

Assurance, Practicing His Presence

Faith’s Endurance 2-b

June 9, 2013 Darlene's Ponderings Leave a comment

“Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.

“This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God” ~ James

Today and tomorrow we will look at seven principles we can grasp hold of to help our endurance:

First is our love walk: love the Lord your God with all you are.

When we truly and deeply love the Lord, seeking Him first and foremost, we will stop when temptation comes, seek His heart, and walk away from what does not please Him or work His plan in us. My daughter came in with a cookie cake she made for her husband’s birthday. I said, “She is tempting us.” My missionary friend replied, “You are tempting yourself.” That struck me as odd until I reread our focal passage this morning and realized that is what this passage says. “Each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.” STOPing to love God enough to let Him inspire our path protects us from giving self to one’s own lusts.

“For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome. Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear and heed you. Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me as a vital necessity and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will release you from captivity” ~ Jeremiah 29:11-14, AMP.

Second: recognize that evil is not God’s desire for us.

“…God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone….” And I would add “to evil” to end that thought, for every opportunity to turn to evil given us by the flesh, the world, and demons has God in opposition to them, reaching out to us opportunity to choose good. The choice is ours.

“The Lord your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. Moreover the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live. … this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach. … the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it. … See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them ~ Deuteronomy 30.

Third: good is God’s Ideal for us, not what we deem as good, but His evaluation scale.

Our thoughts are not His thoughts when we are walking in the flesh; our ways are not His ways without His Spirit leading us to His paths. Our missionary friend staying with us right now is an excellent example of someone who constantly seeks the Lord for every step of life and he will not move forward until he has assurance of God’s leading in the path ahead. I am constantly inspired by his seeking after God with the whole of his being. My own obedience and trust in God is inspired by his faith.

“…But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law…” ~ Galatians 5.

When we faithfully follow the lead of God’s Spirit, we will, in His power, keep the Law without being servant to it, instead, being surrendered to the God who keeps His own laws and empowers us to as well.

“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death” ~ Romans 8.

Think on these things beloved and consider your ways before God. I will see you back here tomorrow with four through seven.

Assurance, Practicing His Presence

Faith’s Endurance 2-a

June 8, 2013 Darlene's Ponderings Leave a comment

“This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God” ~ James 1:12-20.

Endurance achieves the righteousness of God. Faith to trust God and stand firm against that which tempts us away from the path He has for us increases righteousness to us. Temptation is not just the flesh being drawn to something less than the best for us. Temptation is there to call us away from following God on paths of righteousness.

God promises us the way of escape from temptation:

“No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it” ~ 1 Corinthians 10:13.

I see seven things in our James 1 passage that give us instruction on how to escape temptation and are important to our success in standing firm to endure the trials of life. In scripture, seven is the number of perfection – of completion. We complete our endurance and reach our destiny in achieving the righteousness of God by following this course we will cover over the next few days.

This got long, so it will be split into two or three posts. That said, I will see you back here tomorrow, when we will begin to look at the seven things that we can do to walk in the path of endurance that works the righteousness of God in our daily lives.

Assurance, Practicing His Presence

Faith’s Endurance

June 6, 2013 Darlene's Ponderings Leave a comment

God has had me meditating on James 1:2-12 most of this week, with instruction to see the absolutes in Him and make them part of me: the guiding light, stepping stone, and solid rock of my journey; the assurance of His faithfulness being seen in my day to day walk of faith and hope. Here, as I meditate upon this passage, the first thing that stands out to me is the fact that faith, when tried and proven, produces endurance (steadfastness, and patience). But look at what we are told is the produce of this endurance, steadfastness, and patience:

“And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” ~ vs. 4.

Endurance, which is steadfast patience, having its perfect result, produces perfect completeness that lacks nothing. God will accomplish His purpose in, through, and toward us as we wait patiently upon Him with assurance of heart that trusts His hand.

Then, after proclaiming this perfecting work, God has James pen:

“But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting…” ~ Vs. 5-6.

Sometimes endurance has to wait for wisdom to produce a heart and mind and way that lacks nothing. Seeking wisdom requires faith to wait for it, trusting God to give it, knowing He is always on time with His instruction, realizing that the wait has the purpose of producing the perfecting work of endurance.

Beloved, if you are seeking wisdom and getting silence, it is not because God is not hearing. It is because He is not ready for you to take action yet. He is doing the work of endurance in you. Hangeth thou in there, O Baby ~ as Kay Arthur oft says ~ for those who wait upon the Lord in faith will find Him faithful to make sure they lack nothing.

“Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him” ~ vs. 12.

Contentment, Waiting

The Flavor Of Patience

May 7, 2013 Darlene's Ponderings Leave a comment

For several weeks now I have noted a particularly strong struggle with impatience. I chide at rude drivers, calling them stupid, then quickly repent as I realize I have chided them for something I am prone to do myself when in a hurry. I stand in line when I am in a hurry with anxiety of heart and frustration toward those in my path.

Praying for God to instruct my heart in ways to practice His fruit-flavor of patience, even as impatience spoke out from me while dealing with the traffic on the morning drive to church, He mightily responded to my query through our worship service Sunday. The first song we sang that grabbed my attention to instruct my heart in response to prayers prayed was full of insights to help me in times of waiting and dealing with others.

“Standing here in Your Presence,

Thinking of the good things You have done…

Waiting here PATIENTLY

Just to hear Your still small voice again…

I will worship You for Who You are, Jesus.”

What a novel idea! To use the times of waiting in line, the moments of frustration with slow traffic, to stand in His Presence and think of the good things He has done: To wait patiently as with Him, expecting to hear His voice; To stand with rejoicing, worshiping Him in the times that stress my patience. As I go through this month with focus on developing His fruit flavor of patience, I am called of Him to see everything that slows my pace as His call to be alert to Him and as opportunity to worship. That glory was followed by:

“All I need to do is worship;

All I need to do is say His name out loud.

All I need to do is lift my hands, surrender, and bow down.

ALL I NEED TO DO IS FIND HIM.

All I need to do is let His presence fall.

All I need to do is worship; worship the Lord.”

That is all I need in this life to help me through the times that test my own patience: Worship Him; think on Him; say His name out loud; surrender to Him; bow before Him; and wait for His presence to fall upon me. If I will do that, O Lord, I will stand…

“In the glory of Your Presence

I find rest for my soul

And in the depths of Your love

I find peace, makes me whole.

I love, I love, I love Your Presence”

For…

“In the Presence of Jehovah

God Almighty, Prince of Peace

Troubles vanish, hearts are mended

In the Presence of the King.”

God has mightily responded to my heart of prayer for Him to inspire me in ways to surrender to bearing His fruit of patience. I look forward with rejoicing to a month of discovering the greater depths of the flavor of His fruit of patience at work in me as I give focus to deliberate surrender in my Spirit to His work of growth in this area of fruit bearing.

Oh, and by the way, the title of the sermon for Sunday? “The King has personally invited you to Come and Rest” ~ Matthew 11:28-30.

Practicing His Presence, Provision

God’s Gives Inspiration …

April 30, 2013 Darlene's Ponderings Leave a comment

So We Can Be Smarter Than the Dog

Our pastor once correctly reminded us that when we are puzzling a problem or trying to deal with an issue and a sudden jolt of inspiration comes to direct us to success, that is God at work. Don’t fool yourself: every bright idea and every good thing comes from above, from the Father of Light.

Today I had just such a moment. Simple as it sounds, I decided it was time to bathe our house dogs: one, DawgBuddy Jasper, part Jack Russell, Part Chihuahua; The second, the alpha dog, Missy Roo Popcorn, a bright and intelligent Toy Fox Terrier. Buddy being easier to dry, I got everything in order then grabbed him up. Missy, eyeing me intently, I thought proceeded to follow us to the bathroom as her tinkling tags sounded behind me.

Shutting the door, I bathed Buddy, dried him, and turned him out to run. Prepared for Missy next I go to get her. She is nowhere to be found. Looking with hope that she went to her bed to hide with no such luck, I knew she was hiding under a bed somewhere and the battle of wills was on. I dreaded having to lure or drag her out from under some bed, but as I headed that way to start the challenge, inspiration struck, “Aha!”

Going to my favorite chair, I sit down, recline it, get my laptop desk and wait. It was not long until she came trotting in and jumped up beside me, looking guilty and concerned as to whether she escaped the dreaded tub. I got her in my lap, loved on her a bit, and we went to the bath.

James tells us, “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting…” (1:5-8).

It is wisdom God gives as inspiration for settling a problem, fixing something, taking care of a need. We awaken in the morning and ask God to give us wisdom for the path, then we go through our day led by Inspiration. We go to sleep at night, musing some difficult situation, praying for insight; waking the next morning with a sudden jolt of creative resolution that solves the problem. God is faithful to bless us with wisdom. May we be found faithful to acknowledge when he does, whether great or small, and give Him glory.

Restrained Passion, Sanctification

Journey to Self Control: Part 7 of 7

April 18, 2013 Darlene's Ponderings Leave a comment

Self-control: The Path to Spiritual Wholeness in all things

“[The] women likewise must be worthy of respect and serious, not gossipers, but temperate and self-controlled, [thoroughly] trustworthy in all things. …” ~ 1 Timothy 3:11; Titus 1:8; 2:4, AMP.

Our ability to live with restraint of passions in the practice of self-control touches every area of life and greatly determines whether we are people of trustworthy character. I have heard it said that if we are out of control in our diet and health practices, it will translate to other areas of life as well. Chaos breeds the chaotic. Thus a focus on self-control will translate to breed peace and victory over chaos.

As I practice self-control in this area of life, I am seeing other areas in which to apply all that I am learning. Life as a whole is improving. And I am praising my God who leads me.

“For the grace of God (His unmerited favor and blessing) has come forward and appeared to us for the deliverance from sin and the eternal salvation for all mankind. It has trained us to reject and renounce all ungodliness and worldly-passion and desires, to live discreet, temperate, self-controlled, upright, devout, and spiritually whole lives in this present world, awaiting and looking for the fulfillment, the realization of our blessed hope, even the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Christ Jesus” ~ Titus 2:11-13.

Living devout, spiritually whole lives in this life, what an awesome, godly goal to attain to, and as I read this passage, I realize that is the journey “self-control in the power of the Spirit” has me on. A devout, spiritually whole life begins with taking the step to live discreet, temperate, self-controlled lives of uprightness that grows out of the grace of God within, leading to a devout life of spiritual wholeness. As I consider living a life of love coupled with self-control, all powered and equipped by the Spirit of God, I can see how that practice of loving self-control and temperance holds in place joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and gentleness, to make one whole as a spiritual being in all areas of life.

Joy and peace come to the heart and mind of the person who, out of love for all concerned, is walking in self-control that protects from guilt, condemnation, and struggle. A self-controlled person, surrendered to God and persevering in faith, understands the need to practice patience on the journey; patience with self and patience in all things that would hinder our journey if we did not persevere with patience to overcome the struggle.

Those who are self-controlled by love’s work within are not easily led astray from acts of kindness and goodness. Faithfulness to live lives of self-control that flows out of love produces a gentle soul who also possesses strength of character that is not always understood by those who are not on this journey as well. I realize this truth as I discover that there is not much that is able to shake my resolve as I give full focus to the Spirit-fruit of self-effort (my choosing to take needful action) empowered by the Spirit of God giving control to my fleshly soul that is beyond the natural means of mankind.

I continue to grow strong in maturity as I work toward being self-controlled in all things out of love for God, love for you, and a right love for self that chooses what is best for all I love, faithfully taking action in the power God supplies for doing so as a victor in Christ. And you are in my prayers as you, too, journey this way with me.

Restrained Passion, Sanctification

Journey to Self-Control: Part 6 of 7

April 16, 2013 Darlene's Ponderings Leave a comment

Training the Eye

I am rejoicing today as I survey my recent journey and feel the strength flowing into my being. My diet is much improved. As suspected, setting my mind to stop the night time eating has greatly diminished the number of excess, low quality calories. The numbers on the scales drop .2 – .5 lbs. most every day. (Daily weights help me see when I have eaten something that is causing inflammation. The constant drop reveals success.) My heart and my journey are strengthened, and I am encouraged as I continue my current path for the next several weeks.

That is one thing I am learning: stay the course. Don’t add more to my proverbial plate until I am able to live with what it already holds. I could easily say, “Man, I am doing well. So let’s add such and such goal to my journey.” I have done that sooooo many times. But I am finally learning that moving forward to new foci too quickly pushes the old off my plate. By end of April, the habit should be well ingrained. Then I will pick a new focus. If I find myself ill-prepared, I will continue where I am awhile longer.

This is a slow journey for me, and I am learning that success for me is in the changes from bad habits that I make, little by little. Success truly is a journey, not a destination. Victory is in the eye of the beholder and I am training my eye to see the victory I am walking in.

I learned the importance and freedom of training my eye long ago, when I learned how to use the eye to measure my food. There is a trick I learned to use in training the eye with regard to measures. Put the portion on the serving dish to the point I believe to be the correct measure. Then measure my portion to see if I got it correct. If not, add to or take away as needed and place it back on the serving dish, letting the eye learn what that serving looks like. I still check my eye from time to time and retrain where I need; but most often I am right on.

Training our eye is important to our journey. Training to recognize the correct serving size protects from over eating when unable to measure—not to mention, setting one free from measuring cups and scales. Training them to realize success is just as vital. I am walking very successfully on this month’s journey, determined to reach my goal, and it feels good.

Self-control thought for today:

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control” ~ 2 Timothy 1:7, AMP.

This one verse pulls everything I have learned thus far about self-control together and adds to it “courage”. Self-control God is teaching me is a work of His Spirit’s power, motivated and flowing out of love that leads me to action, protected and directed by a spiritual calm that does not give way to emotional onslaught. It is well-balanced, temperate, and disciplined by a will surrendered to God. Thus we have self-control, and I am training the eye of my mind, heart and desire to realize it and walk in it.

Now I add to my journey the courage to walk it, not being timid or cowardly, falling to craven, cringing, and fawning fear. You see, I know I can be self-disciplined. I have done it many times, for short periods of time. It is staying the course that scares me. Too often I have begun strong, only to have my perseverance challenged. Falling back, I struggle again to return to self-control. So, realizing the need of courage to help me persevere in my journey to self-control in all things, I continue my journey with you.

Victory and success is in the eye of the beholder. To me, my eye says I am a victorious success on this journey to walking in Spirit-filled, self-control; and I will, by courage and steadfast determination, persevere to the finish, step by step.

Restrained Passion, Sanctification

Journey to Self-Control: Part 5 of 7

April 10, 2013 Darlene's Ponderings Leave a comment

Restraint That Sets Free

I am seeing progress in my journey to self-control, as I continue to fill my mind and heart with determined purpose to practice walking out this fruit from within. Though the challenge at times is fierce, God is empowering my concerted effort to practice this part of His nature. Signs of success to date:

My mind quickly goes to the practice of self-control when challenge comes.
I am 8 out of 9 days victorious on my journey to stop eating after dinner, and I feel the strength and resolve to end each day strong growing within me.
I am averaging 6 days per week without having ice cream—as opposed to the 5-6 days per week that I was eating it. Ice cream’s draw on me is waning.
The sweet or processed foods I do have are greatly diminished and diminishing.
The scales remain down and continue to drop daily as I weigh to encourage myself and to use the tool of the scale as a measure for when I have eaten or done something to flair inflammation.
I am feeling better physically with greatly diminished inflammation.
I am getting in over 3000 low-end, lazy-day steps per day, despite the limitations my foot injury is bringing to the table. I have 2 days over 5000 before I decided the cardio walking was causing harm and hindering healing. So I am getting up several times per day to get 300-500 steps in at a time until goal is met or exceded. By end of day my foot is making it known that enough is enough, but I am being disciplined and deliberate in my resolve while being wise in my limitations.
My alertness to God’s presence with me on this journey has already doubled.
Hope for victory is reviving.

As with previous months of focus this year, the challenge now is to persevere and end with the strength I began in. In an effort to do that, I felt led to find scripture that specifically address the issue of self-control and will end each blog with one and what it says to me for my current emphasis.

“But if they have not self-control (restraint of their passions), they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame [with passion and tortured continually with ungratified desire]” ~ 1 Corinthians 7:9, AMP.

Boy, do I see the truth of this in my love affair with sweets. Here is what it looks like in me:

I see or think of or hear about some favored sweet delicacy. My passion for its delectable flavor and texture makes my mouth water. Despite efforts to push it out of mind, ungratified desire burns within me as it batters the door to my mind and appetite. Suddenly, often with unfettered passion, I run into its waiting arms.

One thing I have rediscovered in this week of focus on self-control is the need to take every thought captive, denying my mind the privilege of holding the thought of some sweet passion. Now I am not completely sweets free: but what I have resolved is that any sweet allowed will be home made, eaten with control, and only eaten immediately following a meal. My understanding—and experience is that eating a lower quality carb with protein and a high quality carb will curb the desire, and the body goes for the higher quality first. If passion still flares, I sit on my hands and put my mind on other things. Before I know it, the desire is gone, and I carry on.

Joyce Meyer is correct in her saying that the battlefield is truly in the mind; and I would add, in the passions. Thus, taking every thought captive for any ungodly passion I face, I restrain my passions, so that I may walk free from bondage to them and the things that inflame them. Each step of victory in this challenge increases hope to me that I will one day have more passion for the victory of obedience and the presence and pleasure of God than I have for the taste of the delectable; and that the joyful flavor of the pleasure of God will make the taste of the sweet abhorrent. As I typed that last statement, hope and joy at the thought of such freedom soared within my soul. I know that by God’s grace, I will get there if I faint not in the way of self-control.

Now, for you here, I thought that I was finished with the sharing of my SparkBlogs on this subject of self-contro and the restraining of passions. But it seems that there is at least one more to come. BLESSings to you on your journey. Thanks for reading my blogs and praying for my victory. Back here with you tomorrow.

Restrained Passion, Sanctification

Journey to Self-Control: Part 4 of 7

April 9, 2013 Darlene's Ponderings Leave a comment

To Self-Control, add: My journey continues!

“Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love” ~ 2 Peter 1:5-7.

“Now for this reason”…What reason? Verse four answers my query, telling me that because I am among those who are recipients of the promises of God, I am, by His promises, to apply the following so that I can “become a partaker of the divine nature.”

There it is. I am on this Spark Journey for the purpose of experiencing God. And I am to experience Him as I walk with Him to develop within me the fruit of His Spirit found in the practice of self-control. This passage God led me to adds understanding to my path.

To DILIGENCE, in faith—faith in what? God and His promises.

Practicing diligence with faith in God and His promises, I am to supply moral excellence—the immoral man sins against his own flesh (1 Cor. 6:18). I must realize the importance of this journey anew as I recognize my body as the very temple of Holy God, and be deliberate in behaving in ways that are beneficial to the health and well-being of God’s abode.

To moral excellence I add knowledge. That means I must study to be approved so I know what I am doing on this journey.

To knowledge I must add—and there it is—self-control: my deliberate effort to do the good empowered by God.

To self-control is added perseverance. God does not always change us in an instant. More often than not, He does His work here a little, there a little. To become discouraged is to fall away. If I truly want this, it will require me to persevere.

Through this cycle we find godliness—His nature, alive, well and working within, which produces brotherly kindness, and well-springs with Love—God is love.

After God started speaking to me, reminding me of this lesson learned long ago, my self-control bounced off the wall of exhaustion and fell into a bowl of ice cream about two hours after dinner last night, breaking my “No ice cream” streak and my “Stop eating after dinner” streak. Because of God reminding me that to self-control we add perseverance, I did not fall to discouragement, but was immediately able to get back up, dust off, and carry on. As the result of not falling into a binge, but immediately getting back on track, the scales were up only two tenths of a pound this morning. Today has been strong again.

Two words that stand out to me for adding to my practice of self-control:

Perseverance – Steady persistence in adhering to a course of action, a belief, or a purpose; steadfastness.
Diligence – Earnest and persistent application to an undertaking; steady effort; assiduity (??). Attentive care; heedfulness.
- Assiduity – Persistent application or diligence; unflagging effort. Constant personal attention and often obsequious solicitude (??). Devoted attention.
- Obsequious solicitude – essentially “as a servant seeking the aid of her Master.”

Thus, my journey continues as I determine to be diligent in my efforts to persevere, not raising the white flag of surrender in my journey to have victory in the area of self-control, but by the power of the Master to whom I cry out as the supply needed to win the goal, I stand firm and press forward.

(One more blog point to follow and our journey to self-control is finished…for now 😉

Seeking Holy Habitation, seated at God's feet (Exodus 15:13).